Nigel Farage will tell Reform UK activists and MPs to prepare for a 2027 general election, declaring that Labour’s handling of the economy will force Sir Keir Starmer into an early poll.
As the insurgent right-wing party gathers for its annual conference in Birmingham on Friday, leader Mr Farage will rally members by claiming financial markets will lead to an election in the next two years.
It comes as the first Techne UK poll since the summer break has given Reform UK its biggest lead yet with a 10-point advantage over Labour by 31 per cent 21 per cent. This would hand Mr Farage a massive 107-seat majority in an election.
Britain’s long-term borrowing costs have soared to a 27-year high, with Rachel Reeves set to outline billions of pounds worth of fresh tax hikes in her Budget this November.
And Mr Farage, whose party has been leading in the polls since April, suggested Labour would not be able to see out a full five-year term in government.
He claimed that the rise of Your Party, headed by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and left-winger Zarah Sultana, will hasten the party’s demise.
And, in an interview with The Daily Mail, he said: “The financial situation is very, very grim. The bond markets, just every single day there is a loss of confidence.
“If I’m right about the temptation of the Left for many Labour MPs, they may well struggle to get through another couple of years. I shall tell the conference: be ready for an election in 2027.”
Reform’s conference kicked off with the unveiling of former cabinet minister Nadine Dorries as the party’s latest high-profile scalp from the Conservatives.
“The Tory party is dead,” she declared, after abandoning the party after 30 years.
“The time for action is now and I believe that the only politician who has the answers, the knowledge and the will to deliver is Nigel Farage. Nigel and I will never agree about everything. Neither of us are political robots,” she wrote in the Daily Mail.
In his interview, Mr Farage said Ms Dorries is “a big hire for us”. He is ramping up Reform’s preparation for government, with a “department of preparing for government” to be established in the party’s headquarters by Christmas.
Mr Farage is also launching a search for 5,000 candidates to fight next May’s elections in English councils and the Scottish and Welsh parliaments.
A Labour spokesman said: “Farage is stuffing his Party full of Tories who crashed the economy and left the British people paying the price. And when it comes to unfunded spending commitments, he’s copying straight from the reckless Liz Truss playbook which hammered people’s mortgages.
“Meanwhile our Labour government has fixed the foundations of our economy and delivered five interest rate cuts through our Plan for Change.”
According to the Techne UK findings, Mr Farage is heading for a 107-seat majority with Reform up two on 31 per cent, Labour down one on 21 per cent, the Tories unchanged on 18 per cent, the Lib Dems down one on 14 per cent and the Greens with their new leader Zack Polanski up two on 10 per cent.
With the row raging over deputy prime minister Angela Rayner failing to pay £40,000 on a property, confidence in Keir Starmer’s government is at a mere 23 per cent, according to the poll of 1,644 people.
Since last year’s July election 33 per cent of Tory voters, 12 per cent of Labour and 18 per cent of Lib Dem supporters have switched to Reform, the poll suggests.
Techne UK chief executive Michela Morizzo said: “With Reform UK’s party conference to begin shortly they will no doubt further benefit from the additional profile party conference season brings. These are indeed very good times for Reform U.K. and conversely very difficult times for Labour and the Conservatives.”
